No individual Is Yoruba Leader- Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said no individual can be regarded as the leader of the Yoruba people.

Obasanjo stated this in his book, titled, “My Watch: Political and Public Affairs,” where he addressed what he called his “Nigerianness and Yorubanness.”

In chapter 31, titled, “Campaigns and Elections,” Obasanjo said Nigeria did not need tribal barons as leaders.

He added that there was nothing like Yoruba leadership in Yoruba land.

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The former President said:

“Just as there was no single oba having sovereignty over the whole of Yorubaland, there was no individual as leader of the Yorubas in Yorubaland. As it was then, it remains till now.”

He noted that even among the Yoruba Obas “there is equality, but mutual respect.”

Backing his claim with a saying, “no crown is subordinate to another,” the former President said cities and areas were normally of different sizes.

He said, in the old days,  obas never saw one another, but sent messages through emissaries.

According to him, it was the colonialists that made the obas see one another face-to-face. The colonialists, he said, went further to rank Yoruba traditional rulers.

Obasanjo noted that in the North, the majority of emirs accepted the Sultan of Sokoto as the direct descendant of Usman Dan Fodio.

He said the Sultan was accepted as the leader among Hausa/Fulani traditional rulers.

“The Yorubas did not have such a clear-cut and accepted hierarchy. Every oba maintains sovereignty over his domain,” he added.

Obasanjo explained that ‘baales’ (chiefs) were appointed by obas within their domains.

The former president said the supporters of the first Premier of the Western Region, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, “fixed” the title of Yoruba leader on the late sage during the Civil War.

He recalled that during the war, different ethnic groups met separately to consider positions and issues for the future of Nigeria.

According to him, Awolowo presided over the meeting of the Yorubas in Ibadan.

“In the course (of the meeting), Chief Awolowo presided. His supporters then fixed the title of Yoruba leader upon him,” he stated.

Obasanjo said that some people, including Chief Adisa Akinloye, did not accept Awolowo as the leader of the Yoruba.

Obasanjo said that after he successfully ended the Civil War, some people began to extol his “Yorubanness.”

“I did not encourage this. ‘My Yorubaness’ and ‘my Nigerianness’ must go pari passu, and one must not stand in the way of the other,” he stated.

Explaining the relationship between the two, Obasanjo stated that his parents were from Owu in Abeokuta.

He stated:

“I bear Owu tribal marks. And better or worse still, I speak English with my Owu dialect. I have always maintained and felt proud of my ‘Owunness’, ‘Yorubannes’ and ‘Nigerianness’ in that order.

“They are all parts of my cherished identity. But I have always refused and I will always refuse to be constrained, diminished or reduced to the level of Yoruba leadership.

“Without being immodest, I am a national leader, an African leader and a world leader in my own way.”

“I strongly believe that Nigeria needs nationalists to propel it forward. Myopic tribal barons and tendencies will not take us too far.”

Obasanjo said that Nigeria was inadvertently deprived of nationalists as leaders at independence.

“Other countries like Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Senegal, Cameroon, to mention a few, were not so deprived,” he noted.

He expressed the hope that Nigeria could still regain what it lost when it gained independence.

Obasanjo further said,

“If a person is born in the Yoruba, Igbo, Nupe tribes, it is important that he tries and grows up as a Nigerian with total commitment to Nigeria.”

This, he explained, was a sure way “to make Nigeria stable, secure, developed and great.”

He said that the misapplication of personal and tribal interests was the bane of political stability and rectitude in most African countries.

 

“I have always believed that the interest of any Nigerian tribe can best be met and served when the national interests are served and not outside it,” he added.

 

The Nigerian leader said that where the need arose, in the interest of justice and fairness, he had spoken and acted on behalf of the Yoruba.

 

He stated, “I have done so, but not against the overall Nigerian interests or against the interest of any other groups for that matter.”

 

 

Punch

Photos: Meet Femi Fani-Kayode's stunning beauty queen girlfriend

Please, this is 100% fact because I know the girl, plus FFK is a single man, so this is not a scandalous report. Well, he has a Ghana-based wife named Regina Amonoo but they are estranged.

Anyway, to the gist, the former minister, 54, is currently dating former Miss Valentine and 2014 Miss United Nations World 2014, Precious Chikwendu, who is also an actress and model. She's popularly known as Snow White and I have written about her before..read here. She's currently living in his Abuja home and I hear he's so smitten with her. She was on a movie set last week in Lagos with four police men guarding her. There are whispers that he's planning to make her wife number 3. 

I know her well because she used to date actor IK Ogbonna...:-). More pics of the lady after the cut...

Spot FFK in the last two pics above?

Read My Watch By Olusegun Obasanjo The Free Previews

Read three free previews of Olusegun Obasanjo’s My Watchtoday at http://okadabooks.com on your mobile phone or laptop.

Following in the steps of his previous memoirs, My Command and Not My Will, Olusegun Obasanjo's My Watch is more than the story of the Obasanjo presidency told by the man himself. It is a memoir of a lifetime spent in service to country, of a man who has been destined with the watch, with the vigilance, with the responsibility to his people to speak up and speak out. 

My Watch spans large expanses of time, from the pre-colonial Owu history, to early Abeokuta and the last throes of an independent city state at turn-of-the-century colonial Nigeria, to the early life of its author, his civil war experience, his stewardship of the transitional government of 1976-1979, the interregnum, his second appearance on the national scene as a civilian president on Nigeria's return to democracy in 1999, the completion of the first civilian-civilian transfer of government in Nigeria's history that inaugurated the Yar'Adua presidency and signaled the end of Obasanjo's tenure in office, and the years hence. Read the free previews at http://okadabooks.com

2015: No Basis For Objection Over Buhari’s Credentials – INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said there was no basis for objection to the affidavit presented by the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen Muhammadu Buhari, over the circumstances surrounding his certificates.

It also said that it does not have the mandate to screen or reject candidates and stressed that its role was simply to display the nominees of parties for claims and objections, noting that only when there are objections will they revert to the parties to do the needful.

The APC presidential candidate, Buhari, did not submit his certificates and other credentials to INEC, saying that the documents are with the military.

He however explained the development in an affidavit dated November 24, 2014 which he deposed to before an Abuja High Court.

But the chief press secretary to the INEC chairman, Kayode Idow,u who insisted that he would not comment on individual candidates said: “When parties file the nominees, the law requires that INEC should display those nominees for claims and objections. If objections are made to those claims, the commission reverts to the parties because the statutory mandate is on the parties to nominate their candidates, not for INEC to choose their candidates for them.

Source:- This Day Live

APC Primaries Result Is Out! Desmond Elliot Wins, Kenny Saint Brown Loses

He just won the All Progressive Congress(APC) ticket to contest for the Lagos House Of Representatives where he will represent the people of Surulere in the coming elections in 2015.

We learnt that the other aspirants stepped down for him. The primary was peaceful at all the venues monitored by our correspondent except in Surulere where there was tension because Nollywood star, Desmond Elliot, was said to have been favoured against the incumbent and two-term member of the House, Kabiru Lawal.

It is being alleged that Elliot is ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s candidate.

It was also gathered that Lawal will be compensated with the chairmanship position of Surulere Local Government.

Kenny Saint Best lost out to Lai Mohammed’s son, Folajimi Lai Mohammed for the Ikeja constituency.

Congrats to him.

Fashola Has Been Ruled Out As APC Vice Presidential Candidate

The Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, has been ruled out as a running mate to whoever emerges as the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress at the convention in December.

A highly placed source in the party, who spoke with Punch on the matter, said that Fashola’s religion, even though he is considered a performer, had ruled him out of the race for the vice presidential slot.

He said, “You know that the South-West is a base for the APC and it also contributed immensely to its formation.

We would have preferred Fashola because of his pedigree in the state. 

Moreover, of all the APC governors from the zone, he is the only one doing his second term.

“But this issue of religion is the problem. Apart from this, other APC governors from the zone are also Muslims.

You may need to recall that the enemies of our party tried in vain before to label the party a Muslim party.

“Even though they have failed, we may also need to be guided by the words of advice from former President Olusegun Obasanjo against any party fielding same religion ticket.

This is what is hampering us concerning Fashola, whose performance and competence cannot be queried.”

He said since it was almost certain that the party would field a Muslim as its presidential candidate, it would therefore be out of place to field another Muslim [Babatunde Fashola] as the running mate.

Apart from General Muhammadu Buhari, the party also has three other known presidential aspirants.

They are a former VP Alhaji Atiku Abubakar; Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwakwanso; and a newspaper publisher, Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah.

Out of them, only Nda-Isaiah is a Christian.

The source said that though Fashola remained the best candidate for the position, he however regretted that the issue of religion would deny the party and the country the chance of fielding the governor.

“South-West are not religious but we are dealing with a larger society now. So, we must be careful.”

Jonathan Unveils New N100 Commemorative Notes [See Photo]

President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday formally unveiled the new N100 commemorative notes at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The short ceremony which was initially scheduled for last Wednesday did not hold then because of the President’s journey to Burkina Faso.

Vice President Namadi Sambo and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Governor, Godwin Emefiele, joined the President to unveil the note during the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting.

Shortly after presenting the note, Emefiele said it was issued to commemorate the 100 years of the nation’s amalgamation.

He listed some countries that had before now issued currencies to mark epochal events to include Morocco, Russia and Costa Rica among others.

He said the new note was produced with what he described as most advanced security features in the world.

Emefiele listed the design platforms on which the note was made to include security, durability, attractiveness, cultural heritage and transformation.

Jonathan lauded the CBN for coming up with the commemorative note, though it was coming a bit late since activities marking the nation’s centenary had been concluded.

He recalled that commemorative N50 notes were also introduced to mark the nation’s 50th independence anniversary.

Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, also commended the CBN for coming up with the notes.

She specifically lauded the QRC feature on the back of the note.

The code, if scanned with smart phones, leads users to a website where the nation’s history could be accessed.

The minister also raised questions on the amount the CBN will use to print the new notes and whether it would be done locally.

Jonathan however said the questions would be answered when a memorandum on the issue is presented to the council.

Dimeji Bankole’s 7-Year-Old Daughter With Sickle Cell Disease Died

Sad news have come from Dimeji Bankole’s family, as his 7-year-old daughter Yewande Semiat has lost her life in a battle with a sickle cell disease. 

According to the official statement released by Bankole’s grieving family, the girl was born with HBSS Sickle cell disease. Initially the girl was treated at a Lagos hospital but later was transferred to a London hospital.

Yewande passed away at 10.30pm on Wednesday October 1st, 2014 in London, UK. Her remains were buried according to Islamic rites. Yewande is the grand daughter of Chief Alani Suara Bankole and the daughter of former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Sabur Bankole.

Sickle-cell disease or sickle-cell anaemia is a hereditary blood disorder, characterized by an abnormality in the oxygen-carrying haemoglobin molecule in red blood cells that leads to a propensity for the cells to assume an abnormal, rigid, sickle-like shape under certain circumstances.

Sickle-cell disease is associated with a number of acute and chronic health problems, such as severe infections and attacks of severe pain and an increased risk of death.

GEJ honors Nigerian Flag Designer, Puts Him On Lifetime

The man who designed the Nigeria flag, Pa Taiwo Akinkunmi was decorated as an Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic, OFR, by President Jonathan yesterday September 29th, 55 years after designing the flag.

He wasn't only given an award today, president Jonathan also said he will be placed on a lifetime salary that must be in line with what any Senior Special Advisers earns.

No other government before this government found Pa Akinkunmi worthy of a national award or a lifetime salary. So happy for him.

Olabisi Onabanjo University Finally Reopen After One Month

The Governing Council of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye in Ogun State, has ordered the immediate reopening of the university.

Lectures are to start on Monday, September, 29, 2014 to continue the suspended 2013/2014 academic session, After the University Was Closed One Month Ago, 24th August 2014


The university was closed by the management to forestall breakdown of public peace as a result of students’ negative reaction to the announcements by the State Government reducing the university fees.

According to a statement by the Head, Corporate Affairs Division, Vice-Chancellor’s Office, Niyi Oduwole, in 2008, the Students’ Union Government signed an agreement with the then State Government to increase fees by 20 percent annually.

“However, in response to recent students’ demand for a downward review by 40 percent of the current fees, the State Government reduced the fees by about 40 percent and, in some cases, down to 60 percent as well as abolished the dichotomy between indigenes and non-indigenes.

“This new arrangement was to start in the 2014/2015 session since there was no budgetary provision for the short fall in the current year’s financial appropriation.

“However, students demanded lower fees and its immediate implementation.”

He stated further that this reopening “follows an agreement between the university management and the Students’ Union Government accepting the new fees and the commencement date of 2014/2015 session.

“All returning students are expected to sign an undertaking to be of good behaviour while an investigating panel shall be set up to look at the immediate and remote causes of the disturbances and suggest ways of preventing such in the future.”

While noting that the panel may also recommend appropriate sanctions for anyone that might have violated his matriculation oath, the school management advised all returning students to check the university website for details of fees payment guidelines for the session.